Footsteps echoed dully on
the stone floor, being the only sound that followed Tenkai's Field Marshal's
late-night return from work. Long, slow, yet determined strides carried him
forward through the poorly lit hallways of the old, unused wing of the palace
of the Western Army.

Some would suspect he would
be tired, dragging himself forward, only the idea of booze, shower and a short
nap keeping him to move forward. But the Marshal did not drag himself,
his steps confident, full of quiet, stored, unseen energy, moving swiftly, the
shadow of his lab coat dancing behind him as the wall-mounted oil lamps
flickered wildly.

He let his nose guide the
way, filtering out the perpetual scent of old stone, wood and crumbling
plaster. The palace bore no luxury some of the gods enjoyed, yet the austerity
made the building strangely calming, much more than the pompous palaces all
around. Soon, his nose started to pick up what he has been looking for.

The blooming cherry trees
covered the whole night in their fleeting sweet smell, but even they couldn't
overpower the other flavors that made up the unique night scent. The faint
smell of water, the light and distinctive undertone of conifers, old wood,
fresh, wet and rich soil. But most of all, the smell reminded Tenpou of freshly
hung laundry.

When arriving in the small
atrium garden, the only sound Tenpou heard was made by his well-worn shoes as
they hit the old, weathered wooden pathway.

And the loud
splashing, too, of course.

There he was, fully
clothed, short spiky hair wet, a dark silhouette against the moonlit water,
amidst a rain of cherry petals slowly spiraling downwards to the surface,
spinning as they landed.

"General, that's a
fishpond you are currently standing in," Tenpou noted after enjoying the
view for a while, sliding the glasses up his nose.

The world
was silenced save for the tiny droplets dripping down from Kenren's soaked
sleeves.

A smile rippled on Kenren's
face, his feet sloshing among the water lilies as he shifted into a more stable
position.

"Got hungry, so I
thought I might as well get myself something to eat, uh, Marshal, sir," he
added, saluting poorly with the sake cup still in his hand.

An unreadable expression
flashed across Tenpou's face, skillfully changing back into his small,
unpredictable smile he always wore. He bent down, putting his books and papers
neatly aside on the path.

"Still,
that is a fishpond. Not a kitchen."

"Naw, that'd be too
troublesome," Kenren countered, taking a tiny sip of his sake. "Heard
from the guys argue that goldfish can be eaten, ya know, so I was givin' it a
try. Sir."

The Marshal shrugged, the
while lab coat sliding down his shoulders effortlessly, landing on the ground
in a heap as Tenpou took a step forward the pond, leaving his shoes on the path
as well.

"That's a koi carp
pond, General," he corrected. Lazily, he removed the beige shirt he wore
instead of the heavy army overcoat Kenren did and took another step forward.

"Those are fishes.
Shiny, sparkley fishes. And so freakin' slippery one can't grab 'em. So,
therefore, definitely and by all means, those are goldfishes, Marshal."

"Definitely and by all
means, those are Cyprinus carpii, common koi. Carps." Tenpou didn't
bother to use Kenren's rank and took his time to oh-so-carefully remove his
dark red tie, tossing it carelessly aside. Only his gray pants remained.

"G-goldfish."

"Koi
carps."

Tenpou reached the edge of
the crystal clear pond, fish darting around madly near his feet, scared by all
the ruckus Kenren made. Shedding the last pieces of clothes he had, he slowly
dipped his foot in the water, circles rippling on the surface, pink-tinted
white petals swirling.

There was a plop
as Kenren lost his grip on the sake cup. "Goldfish."

The Marshall just smiled,
setting his glasses aside on one of the stones that rimmed the pond. He turned,
his movements graceful and languidly slow, gently wading through the blooming
water lilies.

Kenren blinked, his eyes
shining. It wasn't the dull shine that often accompanied drinking binges and
inebriation in general. The light in Tenpou's eyes wasn't the one of a
reprimanding superior officer who sought revenge, offering punishment. Nor it
had anything to do with the large, silent moon above.

The last few steps were
quick, Tenpou hanging his hand low, his fingertips brushing the silvery water
surface, then sliding across the bare skin of Kenren's chest as far as the army
coat allowed.

"If you desire to
feast on live, squirming, slippery fish so much, how about eating this particular
goldfish?" the Marshal whispered, edging closer, his other hand trailing
down his own chest.

Tenpou wasn't a mere goldfish.
Soon, his taut, wiry body glistened like silver, like white gold, droplets of
water like diamonds on his skin, like the starts themselves in his wet, pitch
black hair.

There was a loud splash as
two bodies crashed into each other, mouths devouring hungrily, hands clawing
until their feet gave way under them, sending them plummeting in the shallow
water.

Water turned Tenpou's hair
jet-black, sticking to his skin as Kenren's mouth devoured his chest. There was
a moan and sloshing of water as Kenren slid back, resting against a sandstone
boulder, dragging Tenpou with him. The Marshal towered over him, then breathed
heavily and slid down to Kenren's lap, droplets of water hugging every curve of
his body. There was a shiver, caused by outer cold and inner heat fuelled by
passion that begged to be released. They sought out each other's warmth,
frantically, skin to skin, body to body, trying to devour or at least taste the
other. To taste the pleasant light flavor of sake of Kenren, the distant tang
of tobacco of Tenpou. They moved together with practiced ease, always in synch,
craving and getting much more than simple heat of a human's body. Breaths,
gasps, lapping of the water against the stones, moans, rustling of the cherry
branches, loud groans of satisfaction followed by rapid, shallow and uneven pants.
And then again, the vibrant stillness of the night continued to rule.

The panting slowly subsided
into deep, lazy breaths, and Tenpou still rested atop Kenren, in the unwavering
but gentle grip of his arms.

"You weren't trying to
eat the goldfish. You just jumped down from the cherry tree just when I
arrived, didn't you? he whispered, too tired and contented to raise his voice.

Kenren sighed, breathing
warmly over the sensitive skin of Tenpou's ear. "Yes? No? Maybe," he
mused. "Either way, you said it yourself; it is a koi carp pond to
begin with."

Tenpou
smiled against his skin.

Epilogue

Kenren twisted painfully in
his chair, frowning at his paperwork. No matter how pleasant last night was,
his body felt sore all over from having the boulder dig into his back every
time he rose to meet Tenpou's hips. Not to mention the numerous deep-red trails
of Tenpou's nails adorning his torso. There was no point in saying that he didn't
catch any sleep either.

His mind was happily
drifting back to the pond, but before he could recall anything worth
daydreaming about, his thoughts were interrupted by a frightened shriek coming
from the hallway followed by thunderous footsteps. Kenren even spotted the
ripples they caused on his morning coffee.

The door was
slammed open with such force the plaster came off as it bounced off the wall.

In the doorway stood a dark
cloud of poorly controlled dragon fury. Gojun's glare was merciless as he
cleared his throat gravely.

"This morning,"
he begun, hissing. "I went to meditate in my secluded private
garden, only to find all the sand patterns trampled, many bonsai pines broken
and crushed to splinters, the rare water lilies rumpled and torn. Not to
mention the six dead Orenji Ogon carps. And Marshal Tenpou's tie stuck
in the branches of the cherry tree, flapping all merrily in the breeze! Again!"